President Park Geun-hye's nominees for chief of public safety and head of the nation's antitrust watchdog won parliamentary approval Friday, paving the way for their appointment to the jobs.

Last month, Park tapped former Navy admiral Park In-yong to head a new agency tasked with overseeing disaster management. She also named Jeong Jae-chan, a former vice chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), to lead the organization.

Park, the nominee, was deemed fit for the job based on his 40 years of faithful service in the military, his honest replies during Thursday's confirmation hearing at the National Assembly and his apology for his past inappropriate behavior, a report by the parliamentary security and public administration committee said.

During the hearing, Park apologized for having played golf two days after North Korea shelled South Korea's border island of Yeonpyeong in November 2010, even though he had been discharged from active service at the time.

In South Korea, it is considered taboo to play golf when the country is in crisis.

The report noted, however, that the nominee is suspected of having certain ethical lapses and lacking expertise in disaster management and safety issues.

The public safety agency was recently launched following April's deadly ferry sinking that claimed the lives of more than 300 people, mostly high school students. Critics argue that the government's poor initial response to the disaster contributed to the high death toll.

Jeong, the nominee for chief of the FTC, was found to have both the professional knowledge and leadership skills needed to lead the commission, according to a report by the parliamentary committee for political affairs.

It noted, however, that the nominee lacks the determination to push forward policies for economic democratization and to root out collusion. (Yonhap)